Azerbaijan: Contradictions Emerge During Blogger Trial Testimony

Government witnesses continued to struggle on the witness stand on September 18 during the trial of two Azerbaijani youth activists and bloggers accused of hooliganism. Unlike previous sessions of the trial, the judge admitted local and foreign journalists and international observers.

Twenty-six-year-old Adnan Hajizade, a co-founder of the OL (To Be) youth movement and 30-year-old Emin Milli, a co-founder of the online Alumni Network, were arrested on July 8 for hooliganism after they allegedly started a brawl in a Baku café. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The case has become a cause célèbre for free-speech advocates in Azerbaijan, as well as in the European Union and the United States.

During cross-examination, defense attorneys pressed several witnesses to provide details about the incident in question, as well as on Milli's and Hajizade's specific actions. Many of those questioned claimed to have little memory about the alleged brawl, and some were at times openly hostile and/or evasive under defense questioning. Their answers evoked memories of testimony given two days earlier by Vasul Mammadov, one of the supposed brawl victims, who was seen as giving vague and incomplete answers to defense questions. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

One witness who worked at the restaurant became visibly upset when Hajizade's lawyer, Isakhan Ashurov, asked him to recount what he saw on the night of the brawl. "You are asking ridiculous questions and I refuse to answer them," the witness shouted. The judge did not force the witness to answer the questions.

The session opened with testimony from Babek Huseynov, the second alleged brawl victim. Huseynov, a former high school wrestler, and his co-complainant Mammadov both claimed to have been severely beaten by the defendants in a fight lasting "eight to 10 minutes." Huseynov testified that his friend Mammadov, also a former athlete, was unable to defend himself against Milli's blows.

The hearing's most colorful exchange occurred when Milli personally questioned the witness from the courtroom cage. Milli confirmed that Huseynov graduated from a sports academy and was trained in martial arts. He then queried, "How is it possible that people like us were able to beat up trained athletes like you?" The complainant did not provide an answer.

Several contradictions emerged from the testimony on September 18. Both alleged victims testified the brawl began when they asked Hajizade and Milli to tone down their language. A restaurant waitress, however, testified that she did not hear either man swear, or use coarse language. Witnesses also gave varying accounts about whether the defendants were in the restaurant when the police arrived.

A small crowd of supporters remained outside the courtroom for the duration of the hearing and cheered for the defendants as they exited the building.

Although the case has attracted significant international attention, it is proceeding below the radar screen of most Azerbaijanis. That's due in part to the fact that many citizens get their news from state media, according to the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). Rashid Hajili, a Baku-based media lawyer and free speech advocate, estimates that "95 percent [of citizens] get their news from TV." State-run television has not devoted resources to covering the blogger trial. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Other media outlets -- such as opposition newspapers and international radio broadcasters -- have covered the trial, but their audience is quite limited. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America, and the British Broadcasting Corp. were shut out from broadcasting on the FM dial last year. Although they maintain a presence online and via satellite radio, their reach has been significantly diminished. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive.]

Other observers blame the lack of widespread outrage about the prosecution on a mixture of a tightly controlled state media and general apathy. Those struggling to make ends meet "can't afford [to care] about others," while "the upper crust" is preoccupied with maintaining the status quo, "making sure no one touches their wealth," said Arzu Geybullayeva, an Azerbaijani blogger who has closely followed the case.

A small core of free-speech advocates in Azerbaijan, however, is fiercely devoted to supporting the defendants and actively seeks to call attention to the prosecution. Twitter and Facebook pages on September 18 were alight with postings from within and outside the courtroom, despite a ban on the use of electronics within the building.

The judge failed to set a date for the next hearing, but the trial will resume in the next several weeks with additional witnesses for the state. The defense will then have the opportunity to put on their witnesses.